'The Idol': Embattled New HBO Series Has a Grim Rotten Tomatoes Score

By Ashley Turner

With a dismal Rotten Tomatoes score after its Cannes premiere, The Idol has received a less-than-desirable response. In the upcoming series co-created by Sam Levinson and Abel Tesfaye, known by his stage name The Weeknd, Lily-Rose Depp plays Jocelyn, who vows to reclaim her title as the sexiest pop star in America after having a nervous breakdown that cancels her last tour. She begins a complicated relationship with Tedros (Tesfaye), a self-help guru at the head of a contemporary cult. There was a five-minute standing ovation from the audience following the screening of The Idol on Monday, May 22. The show's viewing was greeted with plenty of applause, however, it was revealed less than a day later that the popular review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes only gave it an average score of 10%, according to The Independent. The Idol has a 27% "Tomatometer" rating on the platform as of this writing, which indicates a consistently negative show rating. 

A few reviews condemned the show as "shameful" and compared it to pornography after the screening. Collider gives the show a "D" rating, asking, "How can a show with so much nudity, sex, and eroticism be so bland?" The London Evening Standard says the series "feels more like sleaze and torture porn," and Rolling Stone considers it "Way worse than you'd have anticipated." One of the few positive reviews for the series comes from Vanity Fair, which writes: "The Idol offers up enough regular old entertainment to balance out his aggressive flourish and the bluster of his thematic ambitions." The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads: "Every bit as florid and sleazy as the industry it seeks to satirize, The Idol places itself on a pedestal with unbridled style but wilts under the spotlight." Several months before The Idol's scheduled launch in June, it has been the subject of much controversy and discussion. In March, Rolling Stone reported that thirteen unnamed sources from the production described chaotic set conditions and sex scenes that made them uncomfortable. The project also had to undergo extensive reshoots.

Levinson called the inclusion of nudity in the show a "revolutionary act" at a Cannes press conference. "We live in a very sexualised world. Especially in the States, the influence of pornography is strong in the psyche of young people. We see this in pop music," he said. "When you have a character who has a strong sense of self and a strong sexual self, you end up underestimating her." Levinson remarked, "I think we're about to have the biggest show of the summer." The Euphoria creator recalled how the show came about in a recent interview with W Magazine. "Abel came to us with a pitch," he said. "He said something that I'll always remember: 'If I wanted to start a cult, I could.' What he meant is that his fans were so loyal and devoted that they would follow him anywhere. That was the germ of the idea for The Idol: what happens when a pop star falls for the wrong guy and no one speaks up." HBO will premiere The Idol on Sunday, June 4, and episodes will also be available streaming on Max. 

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